The Math proponents here I think should accept that it's a little more 'domain knowledge' as opposed to inherently part of the craft, which is I think the point

The Math proponents here I think should accept that it's a little more 'domain knowledge' as opposed to inherently part of the craft, which is I think the point of the article. 'Musical theory' background probably correlates pretty well with 'good programmer' in my completely unscientific guess, though it's obviously not remotely a requirement. 'Building' however, is quite fundamentally different from 'theory'. Do you remember the supposedly 'not so bright kids' who went to work in 'shop class' because they liked 'working with stuff' and not 'stuff in books'? I don't they were so dumb. The process of 'making' engages us on an entirely different level than intellectualizing, and I think really differentiates the discipline. There are many bits of software that we use daily, not made by 'genius' but rather the sweat and effort of 'some guy who did it, mostly because it worked'. You don't need any maths, but it's probably a good sign if you do.